WifeSavers Podcast

Do you feel like the hub of a wheel and all the spokes are squeaking? Everyone and everything seems to need you right now, which means someone or something is being neglected: YOU especially. What would it take to feel more "balanced"? Ramona and her husband Dale answer a wife who is wearing out; spread so thin between competing responsibilities and relationships, she's afraid no one is getting "enough". Today’s WifeSavers Question: “I find that often I just run out of time and energy to focus on anything. What can I do to help this problem lessen? How do I find balance?" Listen and learn why a woman gets so easily "out of balance" and how she can realign herself and her relationships so that everyone feels more steady and satisfied. Key Topics: - The inherent gifts of womanhood that make her susceptible to overdoing
 - False perceptions or definitions of "balance" that fuel frustration
 - The exhausting struggle between a woman's two great needs or desires
 - How an inner "hierarchy" can guide her choices 
 - What "responding" and "romancing" have to do with restoring balance
 - Why a husband is uniquely positioned to help her balance

Has your man felt stalemated, unmotivated, or rudderless in his career? Have you seen him act depressed or anxious about his current job? Ramona and Dale, who have been there, answer a wife who is very worried for her husband because he’s so unhappy at work and because the strain is affecting their marriage. Today’s WifeSavers Question: “My husband has been at a point for a while where he is unsatisfied with his job, but he doesn't have any clue what to do. Lately, it seems like he's become another person. He goes to work, comes home, and his time is mostly spent on his computer or his phone. I’m drowning in worry, fears, and insecurities. I feel like he's slipping further and further away. I’m afraid I'm not doing good enough as his wife and it's hard for me to keep control of my emotions. Help!” Listen and learn what’s really going on inside for both of them and what a wife can do to help her husband out of the doldrums and moving towards his dreams again. Key Topics: - Where his anxiety and depression may be coming from - Why he is withdrawing from her - How the male brain deals with stress and emotion - Why his behavior triggers worry and fear in her - The potential impact of her understanding and involvement - Four ways to get him energized and moving towards his dreams

Is your husband depressed, distant, aggravated, demoralized? It may be that he’s unsure you really trust or have faith in him. Ramona and her husband, Dale, answer a wife who has just discovered her husband has silently felt unsupported for years, and she’s eager to repair the damage. Listen and learn how a wife can restore her faith in her man and rekindle his love for her.   Today’s WifeSavers Question: “I discovered during a conference that my husband and I are attending, the thing my husband resents about me more than anything else...His notes read: "I forgive her for not believing in me." I need to understand how better to show that I believe in him. Where to start?” Key Topics: - What she may  be doing inadvertently, that says to him that she doesn’t believe - The six questions she has to answer to restore her faith in him - What attitude will restore his trust in her - The actions that will best demonstrate her belief in him - The promising prognosis for their marriage

Ramona and her husband, Dale, answer a wife who in the aftermath of excessive and prolonged stress, is feeling used up and burnt out. Listen and learn how a woman can bring healthy energy back into her life without costly vacations, elaborate strategies, or wearing out loved ones in the process. Today’s WifeSavers Question: “I feel like the aloe plant that's been forgotten on the porch...Sometimes I wonder if all the care & attention in the world will be enough to resurrect that poor aloe/me!” Key Topics: • Why the search for happiness may be the wrong approach • Easy adaptions to bring joy into her life • The consequences of a women’s non-stop thinking and activity • Why we need regular doses of time alone and time with other women • What a husband can do to help, and the advantages to him • Approaches to self-education to restore worth and mental health • Approaches to finding new perspective through “inspiration” • The Key to avoiding depletion

In this episode, Ramona and Dale answer a wife who is struggling to connect with her man who she feels is her “opposite." Learn how a couple can find, create, or build intimacy despite different interests and approaches to life. Today’s Question: “We have very different personalities and our perspectives are exact opposite based on our experiences… I have wondered is there a point to continue with not much in common? How do I remedy this?” Key Topics: - Why feeling disconnected is a crisis that needs addressing - What a wife and husband could be “forgetting” or misunderstanding - Whether or not “having similarities” will solve their problems - The two actions will have the most impact on her feelings towards him - The optimal use of time to foster connection - The “circle” exercise to discovering or creating common interests - How to become involved in each other’s sphere of interests - The truth behind the premise that having nothing in common means you’re not compatible

Ramona and Dale answer a wife who can’t seem to help coming across as controlling. Learn why a woman may fall prey to this way of interrelating and how only slight modifications to her attitudes and communication style can improve her relationships. Today’s WifeSavers Question: “I’ve been bossy my whole life. I feel like nothing would ever happen unless I ‘push’ a little. I don’t like that about myself, but it’s like I can’t turn it off. How do I stop it?!” Key Topics: - How contemporary feminism has affected women’s attitudes towards assertiveness - How “bossing” is different from effective, assertive leadership and communication - Some reasons, causes, or triggers of “bossy” behavior - How a husband may feel toward her “boss lady” approach - Why some women find “switching gears” between different roles difficult - Four great solutions for “breaking” the habit if it’s hindering or hurting her relationships

In this episode, Ramona and her husband, Dale, answer a wife, who late in pregnancy, is struggling in her physical relationship with her husband. Learn what unique dynamics are in play at this stage of family life and how taking them into account and making adjustments can help a wife strengthen her marriage. Today’s WifeSavers Question: “I’m now 37 weeks pregnant and feel completely unattractive. But just because my body is busy doing one thing doesn't mean the rest of me still doesn't want to be wanted. What should I do?” Key Topics: - How becoming parents impacts your sexual relationship - The importance of maintaining healthy, physical intimacy through all stages of family life - Adjustments that have to made to your physical relationship during pregnancy and newborn stage - Common mental blocks and stresses during this period - Realistic expectations and time tables for physical intimacy before and after delivery - The impact of body image or how she feels about her own body as

In this episode, Ramona and her husband, Dale, answer a wife who is longing for more verbal affirmation and expressions of love from her husband. Learn how a wife can ask for, inspire, recognize, and receive his expressions of love. Today’s WifeSavers Question: “My husband rarely says I love you. I can’t even remember the last time. I hate always being the first one to say it, like I’m prompting him. What can I do?” Key Topics: - How and why he expresses his feelings differently from her - What affect her discontent is having on him - How personality and family background affect his communication - Ways to encourage him positively to meet her need - The most effective and productive perspective on the situation - How to lessen the irritation and disappointment she feels

In this episode, Ramona and her husband, Dale, answer a wife whose husband is so swamped with his work and education, her needs are at the bottom of his list. Learn how a wife can peacefully and productively recruit her husband’s help and support without manipulating, pressuring, or nagging. Today’s WifeSavers Question: "What I'm wondering is, how do I help my husband see that my needs and wants need to be a priority to him too?" Key Topics: - Becoming aware of and having confidence in her own needs - Why he may appear unaware or uncaring - Strategy for articulating her needs - What he needs from you in order to succeed with her - The benefits to him of working with her to meet her needs - Whether or not to prioritize “our” needs over “my” needs - How to motivate him to want to continue to help and please her - What her patience and steady efforts over time will yield in their relationship

Nowhere to turn with your marriage quandaries? In the WifeSavers podcast, multi award-winning author and marriage educator, Ramona Zabriskie, helps women fix personal and family frustrations by answering real-wife questions. Send yours to Ramona at wifesavers.org or @WifeSavers on Instagram, then listen in! Today’s WifeSavers Question: “What are some strategies for helping my husband build a relationship with our kids? He loves them and understands the importance of relationship with them but doesn’t really know how to go about it.” Key Topics: - Strategies for husbands to build relationships with their kids - Facilitating one on one time with kids - Differences in parenting styles - Maternal vs paternal approaches to parenting - Facilitating family activities - Establishing a foundational relationship between husband and wife - Respecting dad’s need for down time